TerrieMiller.com

Lately, my mind has been heavy with thoughts about work. How do I make sure I spend my time on this earth doing something that I value? How do I be true to my self? What sacrifice will that require? Am I prepared to make it, and risk being wrong?

Who do I admire for their life work? Who are the people who spend their time in a way I respect? Dale Dougherty (and aren’t I lucky to work for someone who is inspiring on that level?!). Mark Frauenfelder, Mr. Jalopy, Wendy Tremaine and Mikey Sklar, Ernie Fosselius and countless other makers. Edward Abbey. Henry Miller. Yoko Ono Lennon. John Lennon. Edward Tufte. Allen Fish. Rich Stallcup. Carl Jung. Joseph Campbell. Miki Shamir. Veronica Bower. Edward Espe Brown. Stuart Brand. Natalie Jeremijenko. Chrissie Hynde. Frida Kahlo. Peter Matthiessen. Annie Dillard. Julie Zickefoose. Neko Case. Lloyd Kahn. Dori Seda.

This list isn’t complete by any means, but it’s a brain storm of people who immediately come to mind. These people run the gamut, famous to obscure. They’re my “rock stars”, my heroes, and they’ve made (or are making) the hero’s journey. When I think about these people, the phrase, “I want to be like that and …” leaps to mind. I don’t want to copy them, but there are things about them that inspire me, that make me want to fly. I used to think that if I could just interview people like this, learn all of their habits…how do you organize your time, what do you eat, how much do you sleep, what do you do for exercise, how do you manage your finances and how did you get the money to follow your dreams?…if I could do that and collect them all up, I’d know how to live my own life to achieve whatever it is that I see in them that my own heart wants.

But that’s a rational solution to a puzzle that’s not rational. It might be an interesting exercise (and maybe some day I’ll actually try to do it), but it doesn’t get to the heart of the matter.

What’s important about this list of people is that they’re important to me. Understanding what they represent in my own mind is as important as looking at how they accomplish what they do. Still, taking that quick list as a whole and turning it over in my mind…what are these people? What do they have in common?

They are all creators, each one of them someone who has created something expansive out of their own heart, spirit and imagination. They’re independents.

You wouldn’t describe any of them as “employees”.